Choosing the Right Air Pump and System for Brewing Aerated Compost Tea

[@Ladybrite1]

thank you for your video. I just made myself a compost bubbler with pvc. I used the Oregon State uni schematic to build and made a few adjustments. The pump came in the mail late today and I am ready to fire her up. We shall see; I may end up wishing that I got a bigger boat. I got the 20watt active aqua commercial. They have gone up in price since 2016 but a whole lot of changes going on the last 5 years. Anyway; I am going to wait until tomorrow to fire her up. Gotta hose and a fancy brass fitting for the host to pvc fitting. I may just go outside and Finnish the job but it is dark outside. Tomorrow I am going to have so much fun. Now I understand the pump a little better. Thanks again.

[@PaulyNation]

Awesome! Wishing you all the best this season...Gitter DONE! 😀

[@CraigOverend]

You're better off going for a linear piston blower like the Medo series from Nitto Kohki or a less efficient much cheaper version like the one Quoc-Huy has on his bench. They're the most power efficient design I've found that don't heat water. If your pump is noisy, adding a length of tube to the inlet can quieten them a lot. It's also not recommended to use air stones, as they're difficult to clean.

[@gavan1988]

Thank you very useful the information.

[@PaulyNation]

Thank you very much

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

I hooked up a 12 volt air pump that is 120 watts - as "boiling water" - for 40 gallon stock tank. The pump was a few dollars at the thrift store.

[@craigslade2766]

Hey Pauly, I just came across your video, great information, thank you. I do have a question though. At 16:03 in your video, you showed an item made out of PVC pipe with the bottom facing upwards. It was a hexagon shape. Can you tell me how long the pieces of PVC pipe were cut to? I'm referring to the be pieces between the 45° parts, and the shorter pieces coming out of the T's going into the 45°'s? Thank you, I want to make this fo my new 25 gallon brewer I'm making.

[@Ladybrite1]

Hi Graig. Have you gotten your question answered? Plant Abundance gives a great video for putting together a great compost bubbler made of PVC.

[@rogerbrown6433]

to make pump quitter put short hose on inlet side it works pretty well

[@jenninesauriol1363]

I used an air cleaner from a nitro motor! lol

[@Ladybrite1]

Thanks for the tip.

[@noob-rw4gc]

How many gallons can be brewed with a 952 g.p.h air pump?

[@leemeholdU]

Hey Pauly..is there a way to test the beneficial bacteria/content of the worm tea. Just so you can gauge potency.

[@uploaded113redone]

tds meter is one way but you would have to gauge the potency from the start and check it every couple hours

[@Riceho99]

Tds meter would measure the potency of the nutrients not the potency/quantity of the beneficial bacteria. They sell bio meters I believe that can measure those

[@bosatsu76]

@@Riceho99 Ooo... Link us up please...

[@kimberlykumada6269]

What kind of airstones do you use?

[@PaulyNation]

Any stones for an aquarium is fine. I don't use the stones anymore. If you have a weaker pump, stones may be helpful to diffuse the air and distribute the bubbles evenly. Having a stronger pump will put out more powerful bubbles circulating the water evenly to avoid dead pockets. But using a stone or not you're likely to not see the results in your garden.

[@Drag0nFlea]

A tip from a pro brewer, never buy any pump that gives less than 60-70 Liters of air per minute, even for a 5 gallon bucket, you need oxygen to get a highly potent brew, those tiny aquarium pumps won't give you a rich microbial tea..., do yourself a favor, don't get anything less than a Hailea Aco-318.

[@PaulyNation]

I agree with you, the more powerful the pump, the better oxygen it produces. But for those that can't afford bigger or better equipment, the simple-pump-and-bucket setup with the aquarium pumps I mentioned worked very well for me for 5 years. My garden was transformed by using those small aquarium pumps. However, it's very important to start with quality/mature worm castings or compost. This is mentioned in the 3 books I've authored. Many of the large produce I show in the pics on my website and books were from the small double outlet aquarium pumps. My pics prove it. I DO suggest going bigger/better when the chance arises. Thanks for the comment.

[@raczyk]

what about the water heating up from. a commercial air pump as mentioned in the video? I'm looking at a 5 gallon bucket system

[@paulynation6252]

@@raczyk No pump I have ever used caused the water to heat to levels not adequate for brewing. I'm not saying it isn't possible which is why an aquarium thermometer should be used. Walmart sells one with a green zone indicator. I think the zone is between 72 and 82 *F which is okay for brewing. 60 to 80*F is around where you'd want to brew. Just keep it in the shade and you'll be okay and stick to the brewing process to a "T". The 5-gallon pump nd bucket system has produced very large and high-yielding produce for me, but the process has to followed correctly. I teach it here: www.wormfarmingrevealed.com/makingwormtea.html Its also in my books: www.wormfarmingrevealed.com/worm-farming-revolution-bundle.html

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

how come a 12 volt airpump says its 10 amps - isn't that 120 watts? It was just a few dollars at the thrift store. It is very powerful for air bubbles - I'm using a 40 gallon stock tank. I uploaded a vid.